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Hearings in Anna Nicole Smith Case; JetBlue Back in the Air; Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

Aired February 20, 2007 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Ngyuen, in for Kyra Phillips today.

Well, it was a fiasco for thousands of travelers. Can JetBlue make amends? The airline plans to spend millions trying.

LEMON: Forced to fight, to kill, when he was just 13. A former child soldier tells his astonishing story.

NGUYEN: And news from the Persian Gulf. Are Iranian boats scoping Iraq's offshore oil? We're going to get the latest in a live report from the Pentagon with CNN's Barbara Starr.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: It is the top of the hour, and we begin with this story. They are fighting over her body and her baby. The main players in the Anna Nicole Smith drama all in court today in two separate hearings more than 2,000 miles apart.

In Florida, the drama centers on Howard K. Stern on the witness stand. And our Susan Candiotti is in Broward County with the latest on this.

Susan, what do you know?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

Well, as we've said before, Anna Nicole Smith craved the spotlight in her life and she remains enveloped in it in her death.

This day, as they are fighting over her body in court, we are getting more insight into her troubled soul. For example, her longtime partner, Howard Stern has -- is now testifying. And he said on the witness stand that their relationship in the year 2000 took on an intimate one, but he added that, "She had other boyfriends. I wanted her to be happy."

He said that she talked about dying young and that she wanted to be buried in the same place at Marilyn Monroe, but cost became an issue to share the same cemetery in California. And then Stern testified that when her son Daniel died a few days after the birth of her daughter, Stern said, "In a lot of ways, she died when he died." But some of the key testimony here has to do with where she wanted to be buried. And for that, we will show you a burial plot in the Bahamas because Stern said that back in July, he signed contracts on behalf of Anna Nicole Smith for a double burial plot. And to that end, he said, "I am here" -- he quoted Anna Nicole Smith as saying, "I'm here, and I want my son to be buried here. This is my home."

And Stern said that once she got over the fear of bugs, of being buried in the Bahamas, she agreed to be buried at that burial plot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you find it unusual that she would talk about death like this?

HOWARD K. STERN, SMITH'S COMPANION: No, because Anna -- Anna, in a lot of ways, always thought she was going to die young, and she said that. And she thought she was going to be like Marilyn Monroe.

So she thought she was going to die -- when I forget if the age is 36 or 37. So we discussed it prior to that. And then Anna also thought she was going to die when she was giving birth to Dannielynn.

So Anna did talk about death. She talked about death really from the time that I met her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now the judge said as part of his decision-making process, he wants to find out who the father of her daughter is. And as part of this whole proceeding, he started the day in an unusual way.

He asked Stern as he approached the court to write on a large easel -- a large pad of paper on an easel next to him -- "Please spell out the name", he told Stern, "of your daughter. I want to make sure I know how to spell her name correctly," Dannielynn. And then the judge added that in his view, that little girl is, as he put it, the center -- is at the center of a maze here. And he said that he does not want her to grow up to be a dysfunctional child.

Well, of course, I think that we can all agree that until he gets out of this maze, a very entangled maze it is, that may be a very tall order for this court to fulfill.

Back to you, Don.

LEMON: All right, Susan. Thank you much.

And Susan can join us because court is in recess right now. It starts back at 2:30 Eastern.

We'll get back to you, Susan, if there are any breaking details from this.

CNN's Pipeline service is streaming those proceedings in Florida live. And when they return from recess at 2:30, you can just go to cnn.com/pipeline to start watching, and we'll bring you any developments here as well.

NGUYEN: Let's take you now to California for the latest move in the battle over Smith's baby.

Joining us from L.A. with that is CNN's entertainment correspondent, Brooke Anderson.

Brooke, talk to us about what took place today in that closed- door hearing.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: It was a closed-door hearing regarding the paternity battle which still rages on despite this hearing today. The main matters at hand that were discussed were a February 7th order issued by an L.A. superior court judge. Also, the issue of jurisdiction, and also a contempt of court order filed against Howard K. Stern by Larry Birkhead alleging he filed -- he made a false declaration, basically by saying he is the father of Dannielynn's child and being on the birth certificate.

OK. Back to that February 7th court order, that was issued the day before Anna Nicole died. And that order said that Anna Nicole had until February 21st, tomorrow, to submit herself and her baby, Dannielynn, for a DNA testing.

Well, she, of course, died on February 8th, one day after that order was issued. But part of the order has been fulfilled. Her DNA has been extracted. And today, a judge did make a request in regards to that DNA.

Listen to what James Neavitt, attorney for Howard K. Stern, who was present, said about that today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES NEAVITT, STERN'S ATTORNEY: The court made an order today that it's ordering the coroner in Florida, if it has the power, to allow Ms. Opri's -- or Mr. Birkhead's expert to test Anna Nicole's DNA. And he says if he doesn't have that power under the Florida court system, or the judicial system, he's making that a request to them to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: OK. Back to the remainder of that February 7th order, it's Dannielynn's DNA. And her DNA still has not been submitted. The deadline of February 21st still stands, but now the question is, who is going to enforce the DNA testing, the genetic testing of that child? Because Anna Nicole, who was the respondent from that original order, is now deceased.

So the next appropriate step -- and Neavitt said that Deborah Opri, attorney for Larry Birkhead, is aiming to make this happen -- is to get Howard K. Stern legally involved and force him to carry out the rest of that order, which is to submit Dannielynn for DNA testing. That remains to be seen, if that will happen. It's a very complex issue.

Also on the table was the contempt of court claim filed against Howard K. Stern. Well, the judge dismissed that today. And also the issue of jurisdiction. The judge denied the request by Deborah Opri to take jurisdiction over the baby until paternity is established.

So, as I say, very complex issue. And even when paternity is conclusively established, that doesn't necessarily determine custody. Howard K. Stern's attorneys want the battle to move to the Bahamas. Both the paternity battle and the custody battle. They want it out of California.

So it remains to be seen where it will go next and what will happen from here -- Betty.

NGUYEN: You know, this is so confusing. And every time there is movement in any of these cases, there are more questions that follow. But thanks for keeping it straight for us today, at least.

Brooke Anderson, we appreciate it.

LEMON: Back in the air, with a place to stay there. JetBlue trying to save face, and they're trying to save customers as well, after almost a week of delays and cancellations.

CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff, there he is, talking to passengers today at New York's JFK airport.

Allan, what are you hearing?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Don, the operations are running smoothly here this afternoon at JFK airport. But that doesn't mean all the problems are behind JetBlue. In fact, their phone reservation systems and their Web site are all jammed up.

I just spoke with one family that flew into New York from Buffalo on Saturday. They were delayed for two hours. They planned to leave today, this afternoon, from the hotel. They tried calling repeatedly, could not get through.

They tried also to have the hotel call. They tried several people to make phone calls. Nobody could get through.

They checked the Web site. They could not find out what was happening. Would their flight actually leave? So they packed their bags, paid $70 to a taxi to come all the way out here to JFK airport and arrive here two and a half early -- two and a half hours early for their flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are unable to confirm with JetBlue in any way whether or not this flight was going. So we had no choice really but to come to the airport and see if it's going. And now we have a boarding pass, so we hope that it's going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: It is supposed to go at 3:25 Eastern this afternoon. Just delayed by 15 minutes.

Now if they are delayed further on the tarmac, they could be compensated under the company's new bill of rights. The compensation ranges from $25 vouchers, all the way up to a voucher for a free round trip on JetBlue. That is part of the company's effort to win back customers.

Now, JetBlue is saying they don't know of any major problem with their phone system or their Web site today, but they are acknowledging that the Web site does, indeed, need upgrading. So they know that they are not totally out of the woods just yet, even though they are back to 100 percent operations here at the airport -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Six days. Unbelievable. Thank you very much for that, Allan.

And, you know, we've been asking our viewers to cast their votes at cnn.com. Does the airline industry offer reasonable compensation for flight delays? Yes or no? It's a quick vote.

And let's check some of those results. Let's see, it's right here on our home page, CNN.com, right down here on the right. Check the results.

Again, Betty, a lot of people are voting, but it's still...

NGUYEN: That 14 percent has not moved.

LEMON: Has not moved.

Yes, so it's 86 percent say no way.

So we're going to be listening to more people, hear some horror stories coming up a little bit later on right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Iranian boats in Iraqi waters. The U.S. military is closely watching small Iranian vessels that appear to be testing defenses around key Iraqi sites.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): CNN has learned that in the past 10 days, Iranian boats have crossed into Iraqi waters at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, sailing near Iraq's offshore oil terminals, perhaps trying to gauge the military response.

The offshore complex is Iraq's economic lifeline. Every second, $18,000 worth of crude oil is pumped into waiting tankers. And that makes this a potential target, which is why the U.S. military is trying to figure out what Iran may be up to.

Officials say the Iranians are not being aggressive. After staying inside Iraqi waters for about 10 minutes, they turned back after being told to leave by Iraqi security forces.

Probes by Iran have occurred in the past, but one official says the encounters increased after the U.S. military accused Iran of shipping advanced weapons into Iraq. The U.S. military strategy? To ratchet down tensions.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: For the umpteenth time, we are not looking for an excuse to go to war with Iran, we are not planning a war with Iran.

STARR: But there are worries. U.S. officials say Iran's navy has expanded its operating areas in the Gulf, raising questions. Is Iran's real intention to demonstrate it has the ability to shut off the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Barbara Starr joins us now live.

Now, in your piece, you told us that the U.S.' plan was to ratchet down the tension. But in light of this information, are there any other plans in dealing with Iran?

STARR: Well, you know, Betty, ratcheting down tensions is the official sort of policy at the moment, but on those waters near the Strait of Hormuz, where much of the world's oil flow passes through, tensions are actually rising, not being ratcheted down.

Just yesterday we found out that the top U.S. naval commander in the region, a man named Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, made some extraordinary statements to reporters about his views about what Iran is doing in the Persian Gulf. He told reporters, "Specifically, the concern with Iran is the combination of rhetoric and exercises. Their war games have taken on a very bellicose and pugnacious tone."

And then he went on to say that Iran is sending a message that is "provocative and intimidating." So it's hard to see how that's ratcheting down tensions at the moment.

It's an area where things are very sensitive. The U.S. is making it clear it has no intention, no intention of attacking Iran, but statements like Admiral Walsh's make clear that tensions remain very high -- Betty.

NGUYEN: They sure do.

CNN's Barbara Starr.

Thank you, Barbara.

STARR: Sure.

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: Safe and sound thanks to a beacon, a dog, and dogged efforts of rescuers. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, an update on three climbers plucked from peril on Mt. Hood.

NGUYEN: Also, children forced to be soldiers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISHMAEL BEAH, FMR. CHILD SOLDIER: If you are an able body, can carry an AK-47, they wanted you to become part of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: A man who was forced to start killing at the age of 13 tells his remarkable story.

That's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, right now, somewhere on the planet, a child is being told to carry a gun and fight or die. The United Nations estimates at least 300,000 children have been forced to become soldiers worldwide.

CNN's Randi Kaye has the story of one boy who was forced to kill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): By the time he was a teenager, Ishmael Beah had killed more people than he wants to remember. He was a child soldier in Sierra Leone, a 13-year-old trained assassin. The government army had become his family after his parents and brothers were killed by rebels.

(on camera): Did that affect you at some point?

BEAH: You have no time to think about it. You have no time to be remorseful, because if you did, you would get killed. You would die.

KAYE (voice over): Ishmael fought the rebels for more than two years. The government army fueled his rage with "Rambo" movies and drugs like brown-brown, a mixture of cocaine and gun powder. He was brainwashed into believing he needed to kill the rebels who made him an orphan.

He wrote about it in this book, "A Long Way Gone," published this month.

(on camera): "They were all lined up, six of them, with their hands tied. I shot them in the shins and watched them suffer for an entire day before finally deciding to shoot them in the head so they would stop crying. Before I shot each man, I looked at him to see how his eyes gave up hope and steadied before I pulled the trigger. I found their somber eyes irritating."

BEAH: Growing up as a little child I would have never imagined anyone in Sierra Leone would have that capacity, least to say myself.

KAYE: "My squad was my family. My gun was provider and protector. And my rule was, kill or be killed."

"The extent of my thoughts didn't go much beyond that. We had been fighting over two years and killing had become a daily activity. I felt no pity for anyone. My childhood had gone by without my knowing, and it seemed as if my heart had frozen."

You see at 15 you say your heart had frozen. That's not something a 15-year-old boy should feel.

BEAH: Yes, that's not something a 15-year-old boy should feel. But, you know, as I speak to you, there are a lot of 15-year-old boys who are feeling that way right now, which is why, you know, we shouldn't let that happen to anyone.

KAYE (voice over): In 1995, UNICEF members handpicked Ishmael for rehabilitation. It took nearly a year to wean him off drugs and hatred.

In 1996, he was invited to speak at the United Nations. On that trip, he met Laura Simms, a storyteller hired to help kids like Ishmael prepare for speeches. They stayed in touch after Ishmael returned to Sierra Leone.

LAURA SIMMS, ISHMAEL'S ADOPTIVE MOTHER: He said, "Look, if this war is over, if I get out of here, can I come to live with you in New York?" And I said, "Sure." And then he said, "Oh, no, you have to tell me the truth, because I will visualize it if it's true."

And then, like, every cell in my body -- you know, sort of a readjustment. And then I said, "Yes." And he said, "OK." And the phone line was cut.

KAYE: In 1998, fearing he'd get caught up in the war again, Ishmael escaped Sierra Leone. He used money hidden in his shoe to get to Guinea, the next country over, and eventually to the U.S.

SIMMS: When he came to hug me, I saw him like a 9-year-old child and I realized that that summer he was going to have his childhood and I was going to be a mommy.

KAYE: Ishmael was 17 when he began his new life in the U.S. Laura adopted him. He graduated from the United Nations high school in 2000 and later from Oberlin College. Ishmael now lives in Brooklyn.

(on camera): Why do you think you're one of the lucky ones? There are many like you who ended up back in the war.

BEAH: Somebody must be looking out for me, I guess, you know? Because surviving a war like that in Sierra Leone doesn't have to do with being trained or being a good soldier. It's just pure luck.

KAYE: Have you been able to put this behind you? Will you ever be able to put this behind you?

BEAH: I know that those memories will always be there. This is part of my life. This is part of what makes me Ishmael.

My life before, my life during the war, my life now, that's what makes me Ishmael. I come with that full package. So it's not something I can put behind me.

KAYE (voice over): Now 26, Ishmael has recaptured his humanity and is helping others like him get that chance, too.

BEAH: You can only get to be a child for a very limited time in your life. You get to be an adult for the rest of your life. And those times everyone should cherish.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, New York

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: It's quite a compelling story. So compelling, that our CNN NEWSROOM Kyra Phillips also talked with Beah. His grateful attitude after all he'd been through, it amazed us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: If you were to name one or two specific things that you are constantly thankful for, what do you think they would be?

BEAH: What I'm constantly thankful for? I think I'm thankful for the fact that I'm alive. You know? That's the major thing. I'm really thankful for that.

The fact that I'm alive and the fact that, you know, I am -- I am -- I am OK, you know, psychologically, physically. So much better (ph). I'm well.

I'm really thankful for those things, because surviving the war -- or any war, for that matter -- the war in Sierra Leone was such madness that surviving a day of it didn't have anything to do with being smart, being able to run fast, or knowing how to fight. It was pure luck, and somebody else was looking out for you. God or something behind my comprehension, definitely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the United Nations says Ishmael is one of at least 10,000 children forced to fight in Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war.

NGUYEN: Well, in another story, she didn't win Westminster, but she is our pick for pooch of the year. We're going to show you why ahead in the NEWSROOM. It's fab Lab named Velvet and her starring role in the Mt. Hood survival story. LEMON: Oh, she's a cutie.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Ngyuen.

A latter-day Lassie. We've got the heart, the body-warming story of Velvet -- there she is -- and how she helped save three climbers stranded on Mt. Hood.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A dog, a device and daring rescuers. They meant the difference between life and death for three climbers stranded on Oregon's Mt. Hood in a blizzard. All three are recovering nicely, having been located and led down the mountain just about this time yesterday.

Now, throughout their ordeal, the trio cuddled for warmth with Velvet, a 4-year-old mixed Lab. They also carried an electronic locator allowing rescuers to track their precise spot.

Fellow climber Trevor Liston saw them go over the edge. Matter of fact, he was next on the rope line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR LISTON, CLIMBER: We were all climbing the line on the one rope that they -- that they ended up with. And so it was kind of one at a time. First the lead climber went, and that's when the two people right behind him didn't have enough time to react. So they got kind of pulled forward.

I was still on the end of the rope. And we were just kind of using it as a hand line just because we weren't expecting any objective hazards on the (INAUDIBLE). I mean, there just aren't any.

So he went off first, and then, you know, as I was trying to stop him, you know, the momentum just kind of gets picked up with each person that gets pulled over right behind him.

So it was kind of one, two three and then the climber behind me saw what was happening and caught up to me and tackled me and stopped me. And that's when the rope got pulled off.

QUESTION: How far would you say you could see in front of you?

LISTON: We could -- you could make out a climber maybe at 30 feet at best.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) went off?

LISTON: It didn't seem to be. It just kind of seemed to be a drop. There was maybe kind of four to six inches of fresh wind-blown powder, and after they went down, we kind of got up and I tried to go down to the edge to see if they went into a hole or off an edge.

So I went down with the ski poles I was walking with and got to a foot of it before I could see the edge and it was kind of an ice edge. It's just kind of a big ice field up there right now with new snow over it. And so it was just kind of an ice edge that dropped off.

And the climber that went down, he said it was maybe a three or four foot kind of steep edge and then it kind of shallowed out into a steep snow slope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Liston and four other climbers were brought down Sunday after calling for help on cell phones.

LEMON: Well, happiness, you can say, is a warm dog, especially on a cold mountain. And this four year-old Lab named Velvet definitely has a hot bod.

NGUYEN: Yes, she does.

LEMON: She gave some much-needed creature comfort to three stranded climbers on Mt. Hood, keeping them warm while they waited through the night through a blizzard for those rescuers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When she arrived she was in a pretty good condition because the search and rescue team did such a good job with her. I know that she had been very cold and was much warmer when she arrived. Dehydrated, obviously, from not having anything to eat or drink for 24 hours and still cold. But, in a fair condition given what she's been through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dogs are definitely, you know, very warm, very warm creatures. They're made to live outside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You know, Velvet was attached to that rope line that the climbers were using when they fell. And she was dragged down with them.

NGUYEN: She very well could have helped save them. That is for sure.

Get this. Women: they make up more than half of the U.S. population and they're now taking on more than half of the job creation. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details on this.

Female power today, I see, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Especially, and rightfully so. Betty, the hard working Betty Nguyen...

NGUYEN: I need a raise, don't I? I think we should all lobby for that.

LISOVICZ: ... do double duty....

NGUYEN: I'll share it a little bit.

LEMON: Share the wealth.

LISOVICZ: She is sharing the wealth. She is. Absolutely.

So listen up, Betty. According to a study by the Bureau of Labor statistics, women have landed more than half of the new jobs created in the U.S. from 2000 to 2005. And they're getting many of the highest paid jobs, as well. The study says women got nearly two million jobs that pay above the average salary. That's about 10 times the rate of men getting good paying jobs.

And that means there's time for an editorial comment. It's about time. Right, Betty?

NGUYEN: It is. I'm saying, where's my money. That's all I'm asking.

LISOVICZ: Show me the money.

NGUYEN: There's Don with his hand out.

All right. So we're seeing these trends across the board. But is that really the case, or are they just in specific fields?

LISOVICZ: Right, exactly. Where are these jobs, right?

The government study shows women outpaced men in getting jobs that pay in the top 25 percent. Those positions are primarily in fields like health care and finance. One reason why: the widespread lay-offs from high-paying manufacturing jobs we talked about for years are typically held by men. In the first part of the decade, nearly two million well-paying manufacturing jobs were lost.

However -- and this is a big but, Betty -- the wage gap still exists. The median weekly pay for women remains just 73 percent of that for men. So more work remains to be done.

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, we're getting a closer look at what Americans have learned from disasters such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and what we haven't. It's part of a special "ANDERSON COOPER 360" called "Edge of Disaster", which airs tonight at 10:00 Eastern.

Our David Mattingly, he joins us now with more.

What have we learned, if anything?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, we're looking at the possible catastrophes that public officials and experts say they fear the most. Some involve acts of terrorism, others acts of nature.

One of these what-if scenarios takes place on the West Coast with some bad weather in Sacramento.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): It's been raining for days. The normally dry, hard ground is now saturated. But the California sun is out now, peaking through the clouds in Sacramento. A rain cloud has at last lifted and the streets of the capital are busy again. People, enjoying the outdoors.

Then suddenly, a few hours later, the storms return. The wind kicks up and the Sacramento River, already swollen from the earlier rains, now surges, lashing at the 2,400 miles of aging, crumbling levees that snake around much of northern California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Things are going downhill in a hurry.

MATTINGLY (on camera): Here, the water rises higher and higher. This is the city most vulnerable to flooding in the entire United States, even more so than New Orleans.

But the real danger is beginning to unfold just over there, beyond the Capital dome and the skyscrapers of downtown.

(voice-over): In sprawling tracks of suburban housing built right up to the edge of the levees, people are anxious. Can the levees hold back a flood? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really blowing now.

MATTINGLY: And as the water rises, anxiety turns to fear. But the worst is yet to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: It's important to remember this disaster may not ever happen. But some are saying the potential loss of property and life would be so great that we need to be doing a lot more to be prepared if this and other "what if" catastrophes we explore ever come to life.

LEMON: And, David, you know, it's a little scary because that mention of levees in Sacramento. Of course, it reminds us of another place we just saw the levees.

MATTINGLY: It reminds us of New Orleans. But the thing about the levees in Sacramento, they're not built as well as the ones in New Orleans. And a lot of people believe that if there's going to be next New Orleans, it will be in Sacramento.

LEMON: OK. So when can we predict these disasters? Could it happen? But how are they doing? And when it comes to preventing them, all that stuff, can we figure all that out? Is there a way to do that?

MATTINGLY: All of these are probable -- not probable, but maybe plausible scenarios that we're looking at. They are predictable in many cases. And in some cases they're also preventable. And that's one of the big points that we're exploring tonight: what we need to do to make sure some of these are just completely taken off the "what if" list.

LEMON: That's very interesting. I will be watch this because I'd like to know, you know, considering what happened in New Orleans and what you said about Sacramento.

David Mattingly, thank you so much.

We'll see much, much more of David's report "ANDERSON COOPER 360". That's tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

NGUYEN: Well, another important story that viewers need to see. And it's medical advice women need to take to heart. Up next in the CNN NEWSROOM, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on new guidelines from heart experts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, an aspirin a day really could keep a crisis at bay. That's the new advice for women from the American Heart Association. And it has many other guidelines for staying fit and well.

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When talking about women and heart disease, a lot of patients, a lot of physicians, even, don't recognize that heart disease remains the no. 1 killer of men and women.

In fact, there's about 30 percent of women out there right now who are watching who have significant heart disease. Forty percent of first heart attacks in women end up being fatal. There's only about 10 percent of women overall who are optimized in terms of the risk, who really don't really have any risk for heart disease. These are startling numbers.

There's been a lot of movement in this area for some time now. In 2004 there were some guidelines that were actually passed, looking specifically at women and heart disease.

And now, three years later, some of those guidelines have been updated to get some really specific recommendations. I want to outline some of those for you here now. With regard to aspirin, first of all, they say that all women, regardless of their health, age 65 and older should be taking an aspirin, up to 325 milligrams a day.

And women who are 65 and younger, even if they're healthy now, if they have some sort of risk factor that puts them at risk for stroke, they should also take an aspirin. Exercise, that's another one that goes back and forth. Admittedly it is somewhat confusing. But now the guidelines say if you are overweight, if you're someone who's trying to lose weight now, 60 to 90 minutes a day of exercise. And if you're someone who's at an optimal weight, about 30 minutes a day, most days of the week.

Supplements, again, this is something that people hear a lot of conflicting information about. I want to break it down for you. With regards to omega 3 fatty acids, talking about women and heart health, they say at least twice a week, either in the form of supplements, as you see there, or in some fatty fish like tuna or salmon, again, at least twice a week.

Talking about folate and anti-oxidants. There's been a lot of studies here looking at the effects, specifically, on the heart. And they find there is no benefit with regards to folate, with regard to anti-oxidants. So if you're taking it solely to try and protect your heart, you can save your money by not buying those. Of course, if you're pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant, you should stay on the folic acid. That can be certainly very beneficial.

It is unclear why women remain at such high risk. In large part it probably has to do with physicians don't recognize the symptoms in women to be the same as men. So people who come in with chest complaint may be chalked up to indigestion, as opposed to heart complaints. We need to get better as a medical community about recognizing some of these problems.

The good news is that a lot of these problems can be reversed. If we recognize heart disease continues to be the no. 1 killer of women, we can one day bring those numbers down.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right.

Sanjay, thank you.

Well, some were stuck on a runway for hours. Now JetBlue says it will make it up to all those passengers. But will they accept the apology or tell JetBlue to just take off?

And we'll check results of the CNN.com quick vote. Does the airline industry offer reasonable compensation for flight delays? I kind of know where it's going, but vote yes or no. And we'll check the those tallies next right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Now departing, JetBlue flights, one after another. This, after almost a week of cancellations beginning with the Valentine's Day ice storm in New York.

On CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" the airline's founder promised to make amends to outraged customers and to make things better from here on out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID NEELEMAN, JETBLUE FOUNDER & CEO: There's no excuse. We learned a huge lesson. That will never happen again at JetBlue. We will have provisions to be able to take people off airplanes. We have our new bill of rights today talks about what we are responsible for...

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: What your going to do? Tell me about the new bill of rights.

NEELEMAN: Well, the new bill of rights has all kinds of things. It has -- and it's going to be a work in progress. We're going to be able to add things to it and be able to move forward. But if you're on an airplane and you, you know, you arrive in a city and you can't get off that airplane within 30 minutes, you get compensation starting at 30 minutes. And if you get to two hours, you get the full credit on your trip back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, JetBlue's CEO says the make good vouchers will range from $25 to full refunds depending on how long you're stuck on a plane. The airline will also use that method to reimburse passengers stranded since Wednesday.

Now, in the future if your JetBlue flight is canceled within 12 hours of departure, you can ask for a full refund or voucher. In addition, the airline plans to form a customer advisory council.

No matter where you go, getting there probably won't be half the fun. If you travel, you've probably racked up a few travel nightmares. I know we have. We found some here at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA FERGUSON, CHICAGO: Three or four hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three or four hours?

FERGUSON: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exhausted?

FERGUSON: I just went to sleep.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five hours, actually. It was landing. Flight was coming in and it was snowing in JFK. Plane in front of us got stuck in the snow. So we were behind him and we had to sit there and wait until he moved on his merry way. But by then our wings had frozen up, so we had to get de-iced. So, multiple stories there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was on JetBlue a week ago Friday. And I sat on the runway in Orlando for an hour and a half -- hour and 40 minutes, actually, before we took off. And they told us leaving the gate that we would be sitting on the plane for about an hour and 20 minutes before we took off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, here's a question. Does the airline offer reasonable compensation for flight delays or cancellations?

NGUYEN: Reasonable compensation?

LEMON: Let's check it. Let's see how you voted on our quick poll at CNN.com.

NGUYEN: What was is, 30, almost 35,000 votes?

LEMON: Yes. It's easier for me to read here. Actually, almost 37,000 votes and it's still 86 percent say, "Nope, don't offer enough compensation."

So we know where this is heading.

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

Well, take a look at this because you won't see many complaints here. Going to give you a live picture of Bourbon Street. I mean, it may be the only complaint is, anyone got an aspirin?

These folks are really living it up today on this Fat Tuesday. We're check in with our resident party animal Rob Marciano for the forecast coming up after this break.

LEMON: That would be a fun place to be today.

NGUYEN: Wouldn't it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Watching the good times roll through the streets of New Orleans. Just look at this crowd. This is the Zulu Social Club parade, one of the most popular events of Mardi Gras, obviously. And if you can't be there on Bourbon Street, for all of the Fat Tuesday fun all you have to do is go online to CNN Pipeline and watch the festivities live all day long and just wish you were there. That's CNN.com/pipeline.

CNN's Rob Marciano keeps a watch as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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